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USAID cuts may cause over 14 million additional deaths

USAID cuts may cause over 14 million additional deaths

Washington is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $US61 billion ($A93 billion) in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data.
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Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire as White House cuts supplies to Ukraine
Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire as White House cuts supplies to Ukraine

The Age

timean hour ago

  • The Age

Trump says Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire as White House cuts supplies to Ukraine

Israel hasn't publicly commented on Trump's latest remarks. But an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intense pressure from the Trump administration on both Israel and Hamas is having some effect, leading to modest optimism within Israel that a deal is closer. Loading Qatar and Egypt, the official said, will make it clearer to Hamas that talks during the truce would be aimed at ending the war. The official said Israel is likely to send a delegation to negotiations expected to be held either in Cairo or Doha in the coming week. Netanyahu recently stated that Israel's key concern is to return the remaining hostages in Gaza, a shift from previous statements that the war's two aims are co-equal – the destruction of Hamas and the return of the captives. Israel's military chief, Eyal Zamir, said that expanding the assault on Hamas would endanger the remaining hostages and described Hamas as a 'dead organisation', according to Israeli media reports. Far-right Israeli ministers expressed anger at those statements and are pushing for the defeat of Hamas to remain at the top of the agenda. That complicates Netanyahu's position. Still, if negotiations last through July, when parliament goes into recess until mid-October, it will be much harder for those ministers to bring down the government. Trump last week said he thought a ceasefire in Gaza could be 'close'. But he didn't provide further details. The war began with Hamas' assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1200 people and saw about 250 abducted. Of those, about 50 hostages are still in Gaza, with roughly 20 thought by Israel to be alive. Talks have stalled since the last ceasefire ended in March. During that roughly two-month truce, tens of hostages were released. International pressure to halt the war has grown with aid agencies saying the 2 million residents of Gaza are at risk of famine. More than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Though Hamas has lost most of its key leaders and stockpile of missiles in the war, now almost 21 months old, it remains a threat to Israeli forces. Last month was the deadliest for the Israel Defence Forces in Gaza since the start of the year, with about 20 soldiers dying. Israel's attacks continue to kill large numbers of people, with at least 74 killed in strikes on Monday, including 30 at a seaside cafe, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses and health officials in Gaza. In late May, Israel said it had accepted a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza that included a 60-day pause in the fighting, the restoration of United Nations-led food distribution and Hamas releasing some hostages. A counter-offer from Hamas, which wanted a guarantee that Israeli troops would withdraw, was rejected by Trump's main Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. It is unclear if the conditions Trump said Israel accepted are the same as those in the earlier truce proposal. While Trump is one of Netanyahu's closest allies on the world stage, the US president has urged him to end the war and secure the release of the remaining hostages. On Tuesday, Trump said he would be 'very firm' with Netanyahu in a bid to get a ceasefire. Ukraine arms halted As the White House pressed for a Middle East ceasefire, in a separate development, it confirmed it had stopped the transfer of artillery rounds and air defences to Ukraine amid falling US stockpiles, as Ukraine endures stepped-up missile and drone attacks in its war with Russia. The decision comes as Ukraine struggles to repel large-scale Russian missile and drone strikes. On Sunday, Ukraine said Russia fired a record 537 missiles and drones in 'massive' overnight attacks. Russia has intensified its attacks in recent weeks as President Vladimir Putin defies US and European calls to accept a ceasefire to allow for peace talks. Loading American news website Politico first reported that the US had stopped sending some supplies to Kyiv after a review of US munitions stockpiles amid concerns that the stockpiles had got too low. Politico reported the move was spearheaded by Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has long argued that the US is overextended abroad. He has joined Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in repeatedly saying that European allies should assume greater responsibility for the continent's security, including the defence of Ukraine.

‘Do not need:' Huge China base call
‘Do not need:' Huge China base call

Perth Now

time7 hours ago

  • Perth Now

‘Do not need:' Huge China base call

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said he would not back China erecting a military base in the Pacific, stating that they 'do not need a base outside China to be able to launch what they have into any other area of the world'. Speaking to reporters at National Press Club, Mr Rabuka said he would not support a Chinese military presence in the area, and would advocate this position 'as long as I am Prime Minister'. 'If they want to come? Who would welcome them. Not Fiji,' he said. His grilling over China's presence in the Pacific follows growing concerns Beijing is trying to increase its influence in the area. This also includes soft diplomacy tactics like foreign aid, made more prominent after the US Trump administration dissolved its USAID programs, as well as operating local infrastructure projects and setting up state-owned banking services in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka spoke to reporters at National Press Club on Wednesday. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia He dudded his support of China operating a military base in the Pacific. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia However, Mr Rabuka added he doesn't believe China would need to have a Pacific base. 'I do not believe that China would even need a base in the Pacific. They have proven that they do not need a base outside China to be able to launch what they have into any other area of the world,' he said. 'So they can go east of China and far, go as far east in America as they like, or go west and go far to the furthest point in Europe as they like. So there is really no need for them to set up any other bases in the Pacific.' Asked on the issue of Taiwan, he also said that he believed China was 'ready' to ramp up its goals to invade Taiwan, but said he believed the 'rest of the world is also ready'. Mr Rabuka said he doesn't believe China would need to have a Pacific base. NewsWire / David Beach Credit: News Corp Australia He said that potential conflict would 'draw the major powers together into a conflict area,' with China likely to be 'better positioned' in the likelihood of prolonged conflict. Despite his criticisms and hesitations on China's military presence, he complimented Chinese President Xi Jinping as a 'great leader'. 'He's brought up the standard and quality of life in the rural areas,' he said. 'That way he started in the provinces with the economic development of villages and communities and worked his way up the Chinese Communist Party to be the President now.' Mr Rabuka also backed a scheme in which the Australian Defence Force would recruit Fijian personnel. His comments come as the ADF is struggling with a personnel shortfall of about 4300 members, and while it says there are 'no plans to target recruits from Pacific Island nations, it is conducting a number of reviews to boost numbers. 'I would like to see it happen. Whether Australia does it or not depends on your own policies. We will not push it,' he said. Mr Rabuka said a potential program could be attractive to rural residents who are 'emptying out into the cities' but are unable to secure work. 'What we would like to do is to reduce those who are ending up in settlements in the cities and not working, giving way to crime and becoming first victims to the sale of drugs and AIDS and HIV from frequently used or commonly used needles,' he said. Mr Rabuka and Anthony Albanese recently spoke when the Prime Minister visited Fiji in June, with their talks focusing on the issues related to regional security. Mr Albanese said Fiji played a 'critical role' in the Pacific, however acknowledged that while the bilateral relationship was about defence, security and the economy, it was 'most importantly, about our people'.

Rubio hails end of USAID as Bush, Obama deplore cost in lives
Rubio hails end of USAID as Bush, Obama deplore cost in lives

News.com.au

time19 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Rubio hails end of USAID as Bush, Obama deplore cost in lives

The US foreign aid agency formally closed down Tuesday, with President Donald Trump's administration trumpeting the end of the "charity-based model" despite predictions that millions of lives will be lost. Founded in 1961 as John F. Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has now been incorporated into the State Department -- after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85 percent of its programming. In a farewell to remaining staff on Monday, former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- as well as U2 frontman Bono -- saluted their work and said it was still needed. Bush pointed to PEPFAR, the massive US effort to fight HIV/AIDS that he considers one of the top achievements of his 2001-2009 Republican presidency. "This program shows a fundamental question facing our country -- is it in our nation's interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is," Bush said in a video message seen by AFP. Obama, who like Bush has been sparing in openly criticizing Trump, said that ending USAID was "inexplicable" and "will go down as a colossal mistake." "Gutting USAID is a travesty and it is a tragedy because it's some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world," the Democrat said. A study published in the medical journal The Lancet predicted that more than 14 million people would die, a third of them small children, by 2030 due to the foreign aid cuts. - 'Little to show' - Rubio painted a drastically different picture of USAID, which was an early target of a sweeping government cost-cutting drive led for Trump by billionaire Elon Musk. Rubio said that USAID's "charity-based model" fueled "addiction" by developing nations' leaders and that trade was more effective. "Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War," Rubio wrote in an essay. He also complained that many recipients of US aid do not vote with the United States at the United Nations and that rival China often enjoys higher favorability among the public. A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that The Lancet study relied on "incorrect assumptions" and said the United States will continue aid but in a "more efficient" way. He said that PEPFAR will remain, with a priority on stopping HIV transmission from mothers to children. But he acknowledged the United States was no longer funding PrEP medication, which significantly reduces the rate of HIV transmission and has been encouraged by high-risk communities. "No one is saying that gay men in Africa shouldn't be on PrEP. That's wonderful. It doesn't mean that the United States has to pay for every single thing," the official said. He said the Trump administration was looking at "new and innovative solutions" and pointed to food deliveries in war-battered Gaza staffed by US military contractors and surrounded by Israeli troops. Witnesses, the United Nations and local Gaza officials have reported that Israeli troops have repeatedly opened fire and killed Palestinians waiting for aid -- although the US-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, denies any deadly incidents. - 'No line of defense' - Bob Kitchen, the vice president for emergencies at the International Rescue Committee, said that the 14 million death prediction was consistent with what the humanitarian group was seeing. Among the group's programming that was funded through USAID, he said that nearly 400,000 refugees who fled the war in Sudan have now been deprived of acute aid and that more than 500,000 Afghans, mostly women and girls, have been cut off from education and healthcare. European Union nations and Britain, rather than filling the gap, have also stepped back as they ramp up defense spending with encouragement from Trump. Kitchen warned that cuts will not only worsen frontline emergencies but weaken more stable countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, which will have no back-up if rains fail again. Kitchen said that, beyond moral considerations, the cuts will aggravate migration, a top consideration for Trump.

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